G180: Providing the user with a means to set the time limit to 10 times the default time limit

Applicability

Description

The objective of this technique is to give people with disabilities enough time to complete tasks which may take them longer than someone without those challenges. Some mechanism such as a preference setting or a control on the page lets the user change the time limits to at least 10 times the default time limit. Preferably, the mechanism would have a variable adjustment that lets the user change the time limit to any value in its range, but could also provide ways to change the time limit by discrete increments. The user changes the time limit at the beginning of his session, before any activity that has a time limit.

Examples

An airline has an online ticket purchasing application. By default, the application has a 1 minute time limit for each step of the purchase process. At the beginning of the session, a Web page includes information that says, "We expect that each step in the purchasing process will take users one minute to complete. Would you like to adjust the time limit?" followed by several radio buttons "1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes."

A Web based email application automatically logs users out when there has been no activity for 30 minutes. The application includes a preference that allows users to adjust the amount of time to any value.